Vandals knock over headstones

Thursday

Jun 19, 2014 at 5:35 AM

By Bruce CoulterBcoulter@wickedlocal.comWoburn police said vandals overturned some approximately two-dozen headstones at Woodbrook Cemetery during the weekend.Woburn Police Chief Robert J. Ferullo said officers learned of the damage after being contacted by workers who found the damage when they arrived to work at the cemetery early Saturday morning."We’re working on a couple of things… we have recovered a few items that may or may not be evidence. We’re working on processing the evidence to see where it may lead us," he said.Ferullo estimates the damage to be in the tens of thousands of dollars."You have stones from 1800s, not just turned over, but damages. Some of the newer stones can be reinstalled," he said.Ferullo believes the perpetrators used brute force to push the stones over, saying there is no indication of a vehicle being involved, nor were tools marks found on the stones.He said officers initially canvassed the neighborhood seeking information from residents who may have seen anything and also walked the cemetery grounds for evidence.High priorityFerullo said he is treating the vandalism as a high priority crime."We will do everything possible to find the people responsible for it. These people could be looking at jail time," he said. "This is a real crime. We’re going to treat it seriously and go after these people."One Woburn resident who lives nearby, spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying he told Woburn police he saw a group of four or five teens in the area Friday evening, some of them carrying large sticks.The man said he learned of the damage to the stones Saturday afternoon as word of the vandalism spread.Visiting the cemetery, he said 25 stones knocked over."Some of the stones were just tipped over, other were smashed in half," he said.The man said he routinely walks the area around 5 to 6 p.m., as do a large group of residents that walk through the cemetery around the same time most nights."When I first saw one of them, I thought it had fallen [from old age]. But then saw three or four stones busted. They were smashed," he said. "Then other residents came in after hearing what happened and learned there were more than a few stones damaged."